


A Fragment of a Mundane Life

by bidachii



Series: Our Kind of Paradise [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Study, Cute, Domestic, Established Relationship, Grocery Shopping, M/M, are they living together now, hmmmm who knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-12 00:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15328032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bidachii/pseuds/bidachii
Summary: He thought he was already used to it; choosing vegetables and dairy products by himself, wondering what to cook for dinner or next day’s breakfast. Sometimes, just sometimes, he’d let his mind wander and imagine how fun it’d be to grocery shop with his family.





	A Fragment of a Mundane Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jaehyoons97](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaehyoons97/gifts).



Jaehyun is supposed to be a firm believer of ‘everything will be done quickly and efficiently alone.’

The situation in the family he grew up in was a bit… hectic, to put it nicely, so his papa had taught him not to rely on his dad too much. Jaehyun did not turn out to be as unhelpful as his dad, at least in the affairs of the kitchen, to the relief of both his papa and older sister. However, that usually meant a lone trip to the grocery store, without anyone helping.

He thought he was already used to it; choosing vegetables and dairy products by himself, wondering what to cook for dinner or next day’s breakfast. Sometimes, just sometimes, he’d let his mind wander and imagine how fun it’d be to grocery shop with his family.

“Did you get the milk?”

Jaehyun blinks then focuses back to the rows of dairy products before him. Turning to his right, he sees Taeil holding a carton of eggs, grinning.

Flustered, Jaehyun busies himself by grabbing two cartons of chocolate milk and placing them inside the cart. Taeil is still smiling in amusement when Jaehyun looks at him again.

“Were you rethinking your life choices again?” he teases.

Jaehyun almost pouts. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing. Just that it’s almost time for you to start thinking that maybe you shouldn’t have moved out after all, _again_.”

Jaehyun purses his lips. Taeil’s not wrong – Jaehyun _has_ been thinking about his family more often lately. It’s not even because he doesn’t get to see them regularly, just that it’s so quiet at the apartment at times and he can’t always rely on Taeil to accompany him whenever he feels lonely. And it’s not like he doesn’t have any other friends, as well, he just doesn’t want to be a nuisance…

“Hey,” Taeil calls, snapping Jaehyun out of his funk for the second time, “let’s get going. I’ll push the cart.”

It’s certainly different, doing such a mundane task like grocery shopping with someone else. Time passes by quickly, unnoticed, while you’re having fun bickering about which fruit is fresher.

And Jaehyun isn’t quite used to it.

 

“What else do you need?”

It’s been two hours and they still haven’t finished shopping. They’ve probably gone around the whole of E-mart two or three times now, finding things they don’t really need. A small frown forms between Jaehyun’s eyebrows when he sees just how many unnecessary stuff and snacks they’ve added into their cart.

“Hyung,” Jaehyun calls, fingers grabbing the sleeve of Taeil’s shirt. Taeil hums, eyes distractedly looking over a shelf of instant _tteokbokki_ sauce. “Didn’t we get all we needed?”

“But don’t you ever feel like eating _tteokbokki_ suddenly in the middle of the night? _Baeksul_ or _Ottugi_?”

“Hyung, I could always order a delivery or something if I ever want to eat it.”

“ _Tteokbokki_ nowadays are pricey, though, they go up to fourteen thousand won, I don’t get it, you could get a whole set of fried chicken with that. Alright, guess we’ll give _Ottugi_ a try.”

“Hyung.” Jaehyun holds back an exasperated sigh. He’s really not used to dealing with someone else while out shopping – his papa is the expert at dealing with people in general, while his sister is just great at making others do what she wants.

“Jaehyun-ah,” Taeil says before Jaehyun can get another word out of his mouth, “it’s okay. I have a steady job now, don’t worry about money.” Taeil smiles, trying to reassure. However, Jaehyun’s frown persists.

“It’s not that…” He hesitates, unsure as to how he should explain himself.

“What is it? Babe, if there’s anything wrong or you don’t like, you can always tell me, you know that, right?”

Biting his lower lip, Jaehyun averts his eyes toward the floor, suddenly feeling like a petulant child – selfish and demanding. Jaehyun tries not to be that kind of person, but maybe he’s not really doing a good job. Taeil is patient, so patient; the stellar example of a mature adult. Gently, he takes Jaehyun’s hand in his, thumb rubbing soothing circles on soft skin.

From the perspective of other customers around them, they must look funny: two grown-up guys looking very serious in front of a rack of instant _tteokbokki_ sauce. That thought sobers Jaehyun up a little. He tries a wobbly smile.

“It’s embarrassing to say, but… I’m not used to go grocery shopping with someone else.”

Taeil only hums but doesn’t say anything, silently encouraging Jaehyun to continue with his calming motion.

“I know it’s weird, to get anxious over something like this… It’s not even about the money or anything, just…” Jaehyun gestures wildly with his free hand, almost smacking an innocent package of _tteokbokki_ sauce. “We’ve been here for like two hours, and we’re not done yet. There are a lot of stuff that we don’t really need in our cart? Also I could probably tell you the floorplan of the whole store now. Am I making any sense?”

Jaehyun has no idea why Taeil is sporting a face-splitting grin on his face in the middle of his rambling. The one thing he knows for sure, is that Taeil thinks he’s cute. Jaehyun presses his lips together as he feels his ears burn.

Taeil chuckles and intertwines their fingers. “So you don’t like wasting time on unnecessary things. I was wondering why we’ve never gone shopping together before. Now I know why. I’m sorry for forcing you to come with me, I wouldn’t have done it if I knew.”

Like this, Taeil is only able to plant a kiss on his neck comfortably, but his presence in Jaehyun’s life is so big that his heart never feels cold or empty. He’s already like family to Jaehyun, and that… means a lot to him.

“Do you wanna go home now?” Taeil asks, smiling, squeezing Jaehyun’s hand. Jaehyun smiles back.

“Only if you’re getting _Baeksul_ instead.”

Taeil laughs, then grabs two packs of _Baeksul_ instant _tteokbokki_ sauce and places them on top of sky blue floor cushions. He pushes the cart toward the cashiers with Jaehyun falling into step beside him.

Actually, this shopping trip isn’t so bad, Jaehyun thinks, glancing at his boyfriend. Maybe he should visit his fathers and sister soon and go shopping with them. With Taeil, too, of course. They’d appreciate it; they love Taeil because he loves Jaehyun.

Perhaps everything will be done quickly and efficiently alone. But everything will be fun when you do it with people you hold close to your heart.

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY SASA! it's not much, and i don't really like this fic oops, but i hope it'll be able to brighten your special day a little! enjoy your birthday, please stay happy and healthy always <3 I love you lots <3


End file.
